Sullivan: Payet a flawed individual

For a brief period Payet was the talk of the Premier League but after just 18 months in England, the player returned to France and will now go down in Premier League history as a player who burned brightly but oh-so briefly for the 'Hammers'

West Ham's co-owner David Sullivan opened up about Payet in an interview with 'talkSPORT' in which he said: "We knew Dimitri was flawed, and that's why we got him for £10.5m." 

"It was a fantastic buy, but we knew we bought a flawed individual and someone who could well go on strike - he had done it all before."

"That's why he never reached his full potential as a player and why big clubs have steered clear of him."

Nevertheless, Sullivan was full of praise for the France international, "I've got to say he was a fantastic servant for the club. He gave us 18 wonderful months, particularly the first 12 months," he enthused.

The 68-year-old confirmed what was already well known in the world of football, that West Ham did not want to sell the 30-year-old before eventually letting him return to France with Marseille.

"We didn't want to sell him but we got around two and half times what we paid for him and you've got to say it is good business. It's not what we wanted but, as a club like West Ham, sometimes we have to sell."

Sullivan explained that the player's disruptive influece was key in the decision to cut ties though admitted that if he'd had his way he would have made the player suffer.

"We wouldn't have sold him unless we had to. We had meeting after meeting with him - he wanted out and the manager wanted him out. He didn't want to have an unhappy camp," Sullivan explained.

"Personally, I would have made him stick it out for six months and given him a hard time, but if the manger says he's unsettling the whole camp, you've got to support the manager."